Classroom Behavior Management Tips
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Helping Compulsive Talkers |
What if you do nothing?
- Starting class will be tough.
- Everyone is distracted and others join in.
- If you take too long to address it, students will see it as unfair. Play video
- Identify Why They Are Talking- Attention, Peer Status, Sense of Achievement, Aggression?
- Talk Privately With Students Right Away
- Contact Parents/Guardians
- React Consistently
- Give Students Small Helper Tasks
- Position Student Closer To You (Teacher)
- Reinforce Positive Behavior
- Find Time to listen to the student. Build a solid Teacher-Student relationship.
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Behavior Strategies for Disruptive Students |
As teachers we often work with students who are uncooperative or disrupt other students. If you do not address this type of behavior quickly, it can lead to many problems. Here are some quick tips when confronted with disruptive students: Play video
- Know Your Students- Most times problems in school are caused by outside forces.
- Use a Team Approach- Talk to other staff members that work with the student. See what works for them.
- Don't Embarrass Students- This will only lead to more problems.
- Model Behavior- Model the behavior you expect from your students.
- Speak with Students Privately- It's best to approach students outside of the places they are seeking attention or being disruptive.
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How To Start A Class |
Getting the ball rolling can be the hardest task of all. Here are some things to keep in mind when you want to begin class. Play video
- Greet students at the door.
- Make a starting class routine for the kids and yourself.
- Use a "do now" or quick assessment.
- Remember to take attendance.
- Have a sign-in area.
- Hear student concerns.
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Reinforcing Positive Students Efforts |
As teachers we sometimes forget that we have a number of great children in our class that work hard and give their all. But, because they are not the exceptional children in the class, they are rarely recognized for this. Play video
Here are some ways to quickly and regularly recognize these students:
1. Give a call home and say they are doing a great job!
2. Send home a flyer or happy form. It will only take a little time.
3. Make them a printable award certificate.
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"Writing Checks For Points System"
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"In regards to points, my kids got bored. So, I made them check books
where they earn credit as they complete work. I also use a response cost
system where they have to pay fines. They love it because they feel like
little adults and will do anything to write a check. This also reinforces
math concepts. I usually use it to buy computer time, etc."
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"Bubble Gum Machine"
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"I have a rather big hand drawn bubble gum machine hanging on the front chalk board. My students are encouraged to fill the machine in order to receive a class reward. I stick paper gumballs onto the machine when the class is caught doing something good....proper line up, good listening etc. I also take away gum balls when the class is overly noisy etc.. The kids love seeing the machine fill up with gumballs. When they achieve a full machine, I give them a popcorn party with a movie, extra gym time, or any other appropriate reward. It works for me!"
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Class Meetings"
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"Class meetings are a great way to help students identify any behavior
problems and work on solutions that all can agree upon. Placing students
in a circle helps to keep everyone on the same playing field. The teacher
acts as a facilitator and encourages students to confront the problems and
work out the solutions. The goal is have students take ownership of their
problems and to be able to have the time to problem solve as a team. Meetings
can be called for any reason and should last for only a few minutes. Stay
focused and work toward achieving a goal that leads to action."
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"Reinforce Positive Behavior"
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"To reinforce positive behaviors in children, each month hang a poster
on the wall with each child's name printed on it. These can be seasonal,
such as pumpkins, flowers, apples, etc. They can be bought or made by the
teacher or the children. Each time a child displays a behavior that you
are trying to reinforce, have them take a sticker and put it on the card.
At the end of the month, the students take these home. They are proud to
take them home and you have reinforced only the positive in your classroom."
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"Building Decision Making Skills"
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"Developing the concept of "change" and getting students to accept
what can be changed and what cannot be changed can sometimes be a challenge
for teachers. This exercise gets students to use thinking and reasoning
skills to make decisions on what they have control over and what they do
not and to know the difference between the two. Start out with a list of
various phrases describing situations such as: the temperature outside,
how old you are, how you treat other people, how well you do in school,
etc. Ask students to identify what can be changed and what cannot; ask them
to tell why, and why not. This can be done in small groups or as a partner
activity. As a follow-up, students can write their own list and share it
with others. For younger students, the teacher can read the list and the
children can indicate the differences with a raise of the hand."
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"Focus and Direction"
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"When you begin a lesson, post a schedule of the class. We need to
let the students know what we have planned and where we are going. The students
can focus on the lesson of the day and understand the expectations. Read
through the schedule and put the responsibility of the lesson on the child.
This is what is to be accomplished today. You have given the expectation,
shared responsibility of the lesson with the students, and focused your
students on what is to be accomplished. This is also a good guide for the
teacher as well. When the students become accustomed to this outline, they
will soon be keeping the teacher on task. This can be posted on a chart
or simply written on the board."
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"Room Helper"
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"Every classroom, at some point, has a student that pushes the behavioral limits set. Select these particular students and delegate relative and meaningful responsibilities. Make them a helper in the room. Provide consistent praise and feedback of the assistance they have given. Discuss with the student the positive outcomes as a result of their actions. I have found that by doing this, the student begins to see for themselves the positive effects they are capable of."
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"Know How I Feel"
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"This activity is geared toward elementary students. You can have
students arrange themselves on your class rug in a circle. Then, have laminated
strips of paper prepared--enough for each student. On the strips, depict
faces (human or animal or other character) with six or seven different emotions.
Students enjoy pointing to the emotion which matches what they are feeling
and explaining why they picked the face."
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"Poster Project"
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"For a positive way to encourage good group behavior, get a poster of any size (it's good to start with a small one) and cover it with blank sticky notes so that the picture is completely hidden. As the group exhibits good behavior, take a piece off of the poster. I looked at hall behavior, lunch behavior, group project behavior, library behavior. I also took a piece off of the poster if another teacher complimented the class on their behavior.
If the principal complimented the class, I took two pieces off of the poster. When the poster is completely uncovered, we had a party of some description. The rules can work the other way, also. On a day when the class just can't seem to settle down, I usually got their attention by putting a piece back on the poster! The teacher can giveth and can taketh away!"
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"Place Holder"
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"The particular position and place a student holds on a line is very
important to them. One strategy I have found to be quiet helpful is this.
Let's say Catherine steps out of line to tie her shoelace. The student walking
behind Catherine will automatically save and leave that space open. This
way, when Catherine rejoins the class she still has a place in line. This
technique can be used any time a student steps out of line and will eventually
return."
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"Hallway Ins and Outs"
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"While walking through the hallway, teach your students to leave all
doorways clear. For example, if the line of students stop, and there is
a classroom door (or any door) along side of the line, have the students
leave an open space (the width of the door) so that someone could still
walk in or out of the room."
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"Student Contracts"
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"A "contract" is a valuable tool that teachers can use in negotiating terms with students and/or parents which details the specific expectations that the teacher, student, and sometimes, the parent formally agree upon. Learning contracts help the teacher and student share the responsibility for achieving desired outcomes. It also helps increase accountability and provides feedback to the student regarding progress toward meeting the agreed upon goals. It is a good way to negotiate expected behaviors."
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"Catch Them Being Good"
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"Have a variety of positive reinforcers available to give to students
when they are "being good" and demonstrating appropriate behaviors.
Remember, reinforcers are only positive if students think they are! You
can get to know what students consider to be positive by just asking them
or making observations about what your students seem to be motivated by.
Some common reinforcers include: verbal praise, stickers, choosing a favorite
activity, computer time, games."
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"Early Driving Skills!"
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"Give your students the gift of time to learn this basic driving skill, early! As students approach any corner, while walking through a hallway, instruct them to always follow these three simple steps!
1.) Stop
2.) Look left,right, and left again.
3.) If it is clear to go, continue walking. If not, wait until clear, and then continue. The students love the idea they are learning a grown up driving skill in elementary school!"
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"Team Bucks"
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"Each 9 weeks, my team prints team money that we distribute throughout
the quarter. We collect stuffed animals at garage sales, thrift stores,
and family donations and we display them in our rooms. At the end of the
9 weeks, we hold a team auction and the students purchase the animals with
the money they have earned. They earn money by helping the teacher, staying
on task,or any positive behavior. We do not give this money based on grades.
It is meant to be a behavior management tool. It works great! The kids love
earning the money and the auctions provide an opportunity for team enrichment
time."
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"Tattle Test"
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"When I student taught 3rd grade, my students seemed to live to tattle. If I let them, I would only have time to deal with tattles. I came up with a two prong test for the students to gauge if they should be the one to tell me what happened.
Part one: Is anyone in danger?
Part two: Are you directly involved?
If the answer to either question was yes, then it was their business to tell me. If the answer to both questions was no, I informed them that it was not their place to be telling me and therefore they were to go back to the task at hand. It really helped with some of my biggest tattlers. They'd start to tell me something and I'd say "I have two questions for you". After a while, they knew what was coming and would answer them without my having to actually ask them."
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"Barter Day"
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"Barter Day is a motivating activity for students to earn "minibucks" to buy items from each other at the end of each grading period. Minibucks are earned by trading in 25 stamps. Stamps are earned through grades and responsibility. Each letter grade receives a different amount of stamps, and parent signatures on a variety of things earn stamps as well. When the student has 25 stamps, they turn them in for a minibuck. At the end of each nine week grading period, the students bring small snacks, toys, etc. to sell to the other students.
The students use their earned minibucks to buy items from the other students. They can only use the amount of minibucks earned during the 9-week grading period. Any profits earned can be used at the next Barter Day.
The students use their earned minibucks to buy items from the other students. They can only use the amount of minibucks earned during the 9-week grading period. Any profits earned can be used at the next Barter Day.
This activity motivates the children to work harder for higher grades, more stamps, and more minibucks, therefore more buying power. It also teaches them about profit, selling prices, and supply and demand! A major rule is that all bartering is done silently. Anyone interested in receiving a list of guidelines and a more detailed description can email me for a copy. The kids and the teachers love it!"
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"A Fun Way of Getting the Class in Order Before Dismissal"
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"Before lunchtime, I announce to the class that the "quietest, cleanest,
straightest row or group will be dismissed first. To add a bit of interest,
I also add another adjective, such as weirdest, happiest, most sleepy, most
professional-looking, etc. The possibilities are endless. I have even used
new vocabulary terms as well, such as "most indignant," and "most discreet."
The kids soon start submitting ideas to use. It is amazing how the room
is straightened up in such a short amount of time!"
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"Good Gobblers"
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"To reinforce good behavior, each month I pick a particular theme to use for my "good door." For November, I used turkeys. Every day that a student is good with their behavior, I give them a turkey at the end of day to put their name on. Then we hang it on our "Good Gobbler" door. The one with the most turkeys at the end of the month, gets a special surprise. I really pump this up at the beginning of each day to remind the students about the prize. They get so excited that they really try hard to be good. I change the theme each month to match the season or holiday."
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"Sign Language"
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"Use sign language to teach your students a valuable communication
method and to allow you to 'talk' to them silently. I teach my kids 'yes'
and 'no' for group responses, votes, etc. I frequently sign 'no' when I
see inappropriate behavior, or kids are out of their seats or interrupting,
and I can keep right on teaching during it. They also know the sign for
'bathroom', so they raise their hands with that sign and I can just nod,
rather than call on them and find out all they wanted was a bathroom pass.
We use the signs for 'stand up' and 'sit down' to convey that message silently
during assemblies and other noisy gatherings. You could also assign each
cooperative group a color and sign the color word for children to line up
(they will be quiet and paying close attention). Or, let the kids make up
their own (non-vulgar) sign and use that in the same way. Signs for stop,
help, good job, please, and thank you can also be useful. The kids learn
them very quickly. You can pick them up from a special education teacher,
book, or even online."
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"Paper Clip Chain"
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"An effective method for encouraging class-wide good behavior is to create a paper clip chain. I begin a chain of paper clips at the top of the chalkboard. If the class is well-behaved, they earn a paper clip for the day. When the chain reaches a specified point (the bottom of the board or the floor), they earn a class reward. Usually, this involves taking an afternoon to watch a movie and then do some educational activities that relate to what we saw. Once the class earns a paper clip, it can't be taken away. The students like to see that their good behavior is valued."
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"Easier Line-ups"
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"I got this idea from another teacher, and it is simple, easy and very helpful. I placed a piece of duct tape inside the classroom, a few feet from the classroom door, and wrote "Line-Up" in permanent marker on the tape. Now when the students line-up they no longer block the doorway."
"If you want students to be attentive at the drop of a hat, just use
this: I learned it from a grade 3 teacher. It's called give me 5. When you
say this, the students should fold their hands on their desk, have their
eyes on you, sit up tall and listen attentively. This works! I used this
strategy last year and I am using it now. Presto, attentiveness is just
as easy as, "give me 5!". One could make a poster as well for the classroom."
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"Music Box
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"I have a music box on my desk. It is the kind that when you open it the music starts and it stops when you close it. I tell my class on the first day that if they start getting out of control I will open the box until they get back on task. The deal is that if they have music left on Friday, they will not have homework on the weekend. Works like a charm!"
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Bathroom "Pass"
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"I teach Title I Reading to 1st and 2nd grades. I have 9 sections of classes who come to our Reading Lab every day. The students work in centers while the classroom teachers and I work with students in small groups.
I made a chart with poster board and library pockets. Each chart has the teacher's name on it and a pocket for each child in their room with his/her name on it. I have two clothespins (boy/girl) marked "Bathroom".
Should a child need to go to the restroom, while we are working with a small group, they put a clothespin on their pocket and go. They don't need to ask and only one boy/girl can be gone at a time. We also use the pockets to designate who will be working on the computer and/or other special tasks.
(I stole this idea from my cooperating teaching while I was student teaching---thanks Stephanie!)"
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"Getting students to class on time."
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"Prepare a 10 point lesson review handout quiz to be given as the students come into the door. Once the bell rings, it is too late to receive the quiz. Students will be rushing to class so as not to lose the 10 points."
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"Quiet Dynamite"
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"To calm students down after an exciting activity or before going to their next class, play this game by tossing a ball back and forth between students. They cannot say ANYTHING or the dynamite will "explode" and they are "out." This really helps to quiet the class down quickly."
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"Talking, Whispering or No Talking"
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"I believe that a chatty classroom is usually a productive one, but
there are times when children should be silent (Silent reading times or
during tests) and also times when children need to talk using softer voices
(instructional reading times or when teacher is conferencing with other
children). With my Year 2 class (5 and 6 year olds) we use red, orange,
and green traffic light symbols which are magnetized to the whiteboard.
If I need silence an arrow points to the red light, if whispering is required
the arrow points to the orange light and if the arrow is pointing to green,
then children may talk. It is hoped that the arrow is not pointing to the
red light very often during the day. If children are not following the signals
(sometimes they forget) then I remind them to look at where the arrow is
pointing and they soon go back to what they are supposed to be doing. I
often pick children to 'change the light' but it must be understood that
the light can only be changed on teacher direction. My 'lights' are made
of brightly colored laminated cardboard and can be used year after year.
This has worked extremely well for me and the children. They learned very
quickly what is expected of them. At times, I also like to ask the children
which light they would like the arrow to point to. In this way, they also
have an element of choice."
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"Star System"
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"For classroom management, I would implement a star system. While subbing I have seen this work in many elementary classrooms. You first place five stars on the chalkboard. Label the stars 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. Tell the class that for every time they are disruptive or not following directions you will erase a star. Each star is worth minutes they will lose from recess the next day. They can also earn stars for that week. Every time they are following directions or working hard, I would add a star to the board under earned recess. Each star earned was worth 1 minute of extra recess for that following Friday. The students loved working toward more free time at the end of the week and got quiet as soon as their first star was erased."
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"Eyes on Me"
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"To keep your students attention on you when teaching a lesson, use a kush ball. Students have to focus on you to catch the kush ball when asked a question. This keeps students eyes and attention on the teacher."
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"R E C E S S"
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"I teach second grade, when my students start getting restless and
noisy, I write the word
"R E C E S S"
on the board, (leaving a space between the letters) , I explain to the class
that each letter represents 5 minutes of indoor recess, ( the R is a "warning"
), when they don't behave I start erasing each letter at the time, making
them aware of how much time of outdoor recess they are missing. IT REALLY
WORKS!!! And if they behave I write the letters back. ( Usually, I just
end with the R erased) If it is after recess I change it to H O M E W O
R K, each letter represent an extra assignment, a little drastic but it
works for me."
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"Stop Look and Listen"
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"It is very simple and it works like a charm. You clap your hands three times the children respond with three claps back. Then they Stop what they are doing, look at me, and listen for the next instruction. I have found it saves your voice and the children really like it."
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"Points System"
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"I introduced my students to a points system that required them to
earn points. They could gain or lose points based on their behavior. They
use the points on Fridays to purchase goodies, homework passes, freetime
passes, or what ever was the center of attraction for the week. I also assign
points to field trips, field days, and other school related programs. The
students have to have the required points in order to participate."
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"Tech Credit Cards"
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"I give my 5th-8th grade students "credit cards" with 5 punches at the beginning of the semester. Students lose punches for being late to class, missing assignments, and for leaving the room at any time (classes are short, so disruptions are minimized). Students at the end of the year with 5 remaining punches (2 cards for the entire year, 10 punches total) are treated to a party of their choosing. It's instills a sense of responsibility, as most students have not needed the credit card second semester."
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"Give Me Two!"
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"I ask students to give me two: 2 eyes on me, 2 hands on desk (no moving), 2 feet on the floor, 2 ears listening. The response is immediate!"
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"Line Up!"
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"To ensure safe opening and closing of a classroom door while students may be lined up, place a strip of wide tape on the floor that clears the swing of the door. Use this line as the beginning spot for the students to always line up at. This also allows for the free flow of movement in or out of the classroom, while the class is lined up."
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"Turn it around"
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"When I have children in my class that constantly fusses/play with stuff (This is great with the ADHD kids)and my gentle reminders do not seem to make a difference with their ability to stop goofing off....I turn the desk around so their tummy is up against the back of the desk. It is a quiet way to keep them from messing around."
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"Homework Reward"
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"I have
six periods and what I decided to do was to create a homework chart. For
each period I would record the number students who brought in their homework.
The class that brought the most homework assignments was rewarded with a
pizza party, popcorn party, etc. This was really a good incentive for students
to bring in their homework."
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"The Rose Award"
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"In my After School Class, I often told my students that it was important to be kind to people, so to encourage random acts of kindness, I invented the Rose Award. The Rose Award was simply a sticker with a picture of a beautiful rose that I awarded to a student or to a group for performing random acts of kindness. Each group had a special folder, so that is where they placed their rose awards. My students loved the Rose Awards, and also the feeling they got from receiving recognition for doing something good."
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"PawPrints"
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"As a discipline method in our self-contained unit, we started using pawprints as a reward. First we use pinto beans that can be given for any good behavior or taken away for bad behavior. As the student earns the beans, he/she trades ten beans in for one pawprint, at the end of the week the pawprints are redeemed at the "store". The prices of the objects range from one to ten pawprints. All of the pawprints the student has managed to hold on to that week must be redeemed at the end of the week, singles they are allowed to hold onto and roll over to the next week."
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"Children Walking Lines in Primary Grades"
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"Line up children from smallest (first in line) to tallest, when walking to lunch or other school activities. It will reduce the stretching in your line, and keep them organized. The military from Roman times to today have used this methodology, and it works. Also, I have my primary grade children fold their arms when they walk. The line leader, which I change only once a month, walks at the pace of the smallest child in the line. IT WORKS, TRY IT! "
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"Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
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"I had an After School class that was crazy about Harry Potter. I first wrote a letter to the students as "Professor McGonagall" telling them all that they were accepted at Hogwarts and that they would be divided into the four houses from the books, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Huffelpuff, and Ravenclaw and that each house would accumulate points (or lose them) based on their performance in my classroom. Good behaviors earned points for the house, bad behaviors lost points. Certain games and activities in my room were also worth bonus points. It helped my student learn to work as a team and it really curtailed bad behavior. At the end of the year, I threw an "end of the year feast" with pizza and sweets, with the winning house receiving certificates stating that they had won the "House Cup" as denoted in the books, and that team also won a small prize. It worked well as a classroom theme for me. We played a modified version of Quidditch in gym, and the students were encouraged to write to their favorite Hogwart's Professors via an envelope that I had labeled "Outgoing Mail to Hogwart's". I would then write back to the students in the character of their chosen professor. It was a blast for the kids, as well as for me.<"
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"Discouraging Cheating"
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"Students
who cheat must also share their grade with those who copied or cheated off
of their work. So someone who receives a 90% grade on their paper will have
to share it with each student who they allowed to copy off of their paper.
If there was only one person who copied off that person's 90% paper, each
receives 45%. In that way students learn that there is a difference between
helping someone understand and answer versus allowing someone to "Xerox"
the answers, which is cheating."
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"Star Jar"
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"As a pre-service teacher, I have observed many great ideas as well as some not-so-good ideas when dealing with behavior management. One method that I have seen work extremely well was in my first grade placement. The teacher has a "Star" jar. This is a jar with stars that have been cut out of construction paper in it. When the teacher saw the students doing something impressive such as working quietly, putting extra time into their work, or just an acts of kindness between students, the teacher would tell the student that they could add their name to the "Star" jar. It was a great way to get the students attention and they really loved it when their extra effort was noticed and they became a "star".
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"Tickets"
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"I have worked in a hard to staff school for 4 years and I needed a way to get my students to respond. So, I I decided to use a ticket system.
I purchased a roll of raffle tickets. Each day a student has a chance to earn 3 tickets. One for homework, one for behavior in the morning(which is given out before lunch), and one for their behavior in the afternoon. I I also give out tickets randomly for good deeds, good participation, and so on.
At the end of the week, students can go to the "prize" box and purchase toys and school supplies. I have a big prize box and a small prize box. No student can hold over 60 tickets at a time. I learned this the hard way; one student saved 150 tickets and wiped out my prizes in one day!! Some of the prizes are: lunch with the teacher 25 tickets (I buy the kids lunch), toys from the dollar store, erasers, pencils and anything you can think of! Good Luck!"
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"Simon Says We Need Activity"
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"I work with 8 behaviorally challenged 6th-8th Grade students(self-contained) in a residential day program. On some days their inability to sit still causes me to say, "O.K. , we need activity." My directions always start with "Simon Says". I have them move to different desks, take off our sneakers, even put on someone else's sneakers; the wilder the better. I've never had them refuse to do anything! After about 15-20 minutes, they are ready to get back to work. They beg to do this for the next few days, but I only do it once in about 6 weeks. They love it especially when other staff join in. (P.S.- no one ever quits; they all play until the end.)"
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"The Ultimate Seating Chart!"
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"As a rule of thumb, I always seat students in alphabetic order at the beginning of the year. This usually insures that there is a good mix of students. Friends who would distract each other during lessons are not placed near each other.
My advanced class has been asking all year if they could sit next to their friends. I never give in, but this year I came up with a plan. I agreed to allow students to sit in any seat they wanted as long as they agreed that we would compare the academic achievement of all students before and after the seating change. If their was a measurable improvement, we would continue with this new seating Arrangement. Students also agreed that if there was a measurable decline in performance, the seating Arrangement would be changed to a system that should statistically improve grades by separating talkers.
We did change the seats to allow students to sit where they wanted and there was a moderate decline in academic performance. In fact, we made this into a lab activity. I then asked students to discuss and decide on a plan of corrective action.
Over the course of 2 class periods, we came up with a great system. We created a scale to rate students based on distractibility with a 4 equal to the most distractible students and a 1 equal to the least distractible student. Students graded themselves and their individual classmates. We then averaged these numbers. We mathematically placed students in seating Arrangements so that high numbers were surrounded by low numbers. I'm happy to report the grades are back up and my students pondered themselves objectively for the first time in many of their lives. They really enjoyed this."
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Musical Mornings
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This year I bought a new CD player for my classroom. It made a big difference
in the classroom atmosphere. I have a collection of acoustic and instrumental
music. Every morning I would play this music during student free time and
discovery learning lessons. Music did do a lot to soothe children. Students
this year seemed to be more task focused this year. I had fewer behavioral
outbursts and the class as a whole was relaxed and calm. I really think
the music had a big impact.
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To help minor behavior
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"My students were constantly talking out of turn and blurting out in the classroom. While we were taping our reading sessions in the listening center, we accidentally left the tape recorder on. To my amazement, it picked up most of the blurters and also me correcting the students' behavior. So during the school year, I began to use a tape recorder to listen to myself teach and to make the necessary corrections with my speech patterns and that of my students. Since the students knew the tape recorder was on, and they could be heard when they blurted, or misbehaved, the irregular talking decreased drastically. At the end of each week, the students and I listened to the tape and discussed ways to improve behavior as well as our speech. During the year, my students were asked to participate in most of the school programs; they were often commended on their great speaking abilities and their improved behaviors. We were rewarded intrinsically as well as extrinsically."
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"Tickets"
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"I have worked in a hard to staff school for 4 years and I needed a way to get my students to respond. So, I I decided to use a ticket system.
I purchased a roll of raffle tickets. Each day a student has a chance to earn 3 tickets. One for homework, one for behavior in the morning(which is given out before lunch), and one for their behavior in the afternoon. I I also give out tickets randomly for good deeds, good participation, and so on.
At the end of the week, students can go to the "prize" box and purchase toys and school supplies. I have a big prize box and a small prize box. No student can hold over 60 tickets at a time. I learned this the hard way; one student saved 150 tickets and wiped out my prizes in one day!! Some of the prizes are: lunch with the teacher 25 tickets (I buy the kids lunch), toys from the dollar store, erasers, pencils and anything you can think of! Good Luck!"
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Great Job Chart
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"The great job chart works like this; every time students are judged to be good, they get an index card and write their name on it. Then they put it in the open slot. On a day when every slot is filled the teacher closes their eyes. The teacher draws how ever many cards they choose. Students that are picked receive a prize."
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"Shoulders Up, Shoulders Back"
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"When I line up the students to go home, to go to computer class, to go to lunch, I say, "Shoulders Up, Shoulders Back!" I first explained to them (in the beginning of the school year) about GREAT posture...and for some reason (smile on my face) this causes them to line up in a WONDERFUL straight line with no talking!"
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"This is a Holdup"
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"We had been studying the "Wild West", so when I needed their attention, I would say loudly, " Okay guys, this is a hold-up." This meant for them to freeze where they were and put their hands in the air. The novelty of it was what made it work. But, it did work. I have used it this entire year, and the kids still giggle about it."
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"Attention-Getter"
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"Our principal uses this one at assemblies and it works in a classroom too. "Clap once if you can hear me," he says in a normal speaking voice. Of course, only the first few rows hear him and respond. So the next command is, "Clap twice if you can hear me." By the third clap, the entire gym is silent and clapping in unison."